


All the King's Horses and All the King's Men

by Pharoh



Category: All For the Game - Nora Sakavic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-16
Updated: 2016-03-16
Packaged: 2018-05-27 01:06:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6263443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pharoh/pseuds/Pharoh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff"><p>this is a late night rambling because i got really emotional about kevin day. i really like the idea of kevin being the one to stop Riko?? also, i shamelessly support kevin x andrew x neil, but this could be read without that if you're not a fan. im fairly new to this fandom and want to write more, so let me know what you think!!</p></blockquote>





	All the King's Horses and All the King's Men

Kevin looked out across the court, tracing the path of the ball with his eyes. Immediately, his brain formulated angles and passes and plans. Before he could move to enact one, his view stuttered to a stop on Neil. He could see the kid was at the end of his wits. He admired the stamina, staying in this long and this hard- especially paired with Riko. Kevin, of all people, knew what that was like. He knew Neil wasn’t going to make it to the shootout.  
New plan. Kevin ran to where the ball had just been thrown by a Raven backliner- he saw where the pass was aimed at, and put everything he had into making it there. Five seconds. Even he wouldn’t be able to make a pass from here. By the very edge of the net, he caught the ball. Not stopping to slow a second, he pushed himself down the court. Seven steps, eight steps, nine steps- with three seconds to go, he shot.  
This was the moment. This was the apex of every overworked training session, every scrimmage, every night he spent hours at the court, every time he drank himself to sleep to forget what Riko and Tetsuji had made him to get to this point. Kevin threw the ball, his left hand twinging. Everything seemed to creep to a halt as he watched the ball fly towards the Raven goal. Oh fate, he mused. What would be different if he had stayed here? Would the foxes still be here? Would Jean have been injured as he was, could Kevin have slowed Riko’s wrath? He refused to think about it. Riko had never loved either of them enough to stop before.  
The Raven goalie was amazing. They were a Raven, after all. But Kevin had been playing against Andrew. He wasn’t amazed.  
The ball hit it’s mark and the buzzer sounded. Kevin landed back on the ground, stumbling; maybe from the exhaustion, but just as much the physical ache of being back and the surprise. Another buzzer sounded- the end of the game. Kevin only vaguely heard the cheers and the boos as if they were miles, years away. Pawing off his helmet with his hands shaking like never before, he stared at the goal, unable to take his eyes away. They won. They did it. Kevin had finally, truly, won against Riko.  
Weakly, laughter broke free. It was the wild sort of laughter, the kind after you just barely save yourself from an accident, the kind that precedes hyperventilation, the kind that is typically accompanied by tears. Kevin felt the first body slam up against him and almost didn’t react- fuck if it was a Raven coming to get back at him, they should be the one scared about being this close to him in a fight. But no, it was Nicky, practically on Kevin’s back, and quickly followed by the rest of the team. His team. He saw tears on half of them, and wasn’t too sure he didn’t mirror them himself.  
Remembering what spurred this last-minute frenzy, his eyes searched for Neil in the group surrounding him. A brief moment of panic overtook him when he couldn’t find him, and he was quickly pushing out of the group before he spotted him; kneeling on the ground, staring disbelieving at the scoreboard with the countenance of a child who just saw a magic trick. Unfortunately, the next thing he saw was Neil open his mouth. He saw Riko nearby, and knew what must have just been said.  
Kevin started to where Neil was still on the ground, not flinching even when Riko slid a gaze his way. Goddamnit, Josten. He had seen that look in Riko’s eyes many times before; Riko was ready to bring someone pain, and he didn’t care who. Mustering up all the energy he had left, he ran to where the two were, lifting his racquet as soon as he saw Riko doing the same. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Andrew doing the same, but he didn’t have time to worry about that right now, and Andrew was not close enough yet for it to do any good.  
He almost worried that he wouldn’t be either, but Kevin slammed down his racquet with all the power he could muster. He used all the emotion he could pull on- Every time Riko had brought him or Jean harm, when he had found out who his father was and when he finally met him, when Riko thought he had shattered Kevin’s future through his hand, the first time he kissed Neil and Andrew, and when a ball hit a wall not twenty seconds ago and Kevin finally showed everyone what the tattoo on his face meant.  
There was a moment where it seemed as if sounds itself had ceased to exist. In this moment, Kevin dropped to the ground beside Neil, cradling his face and pulling him around to face Kevin, making sure that he had gotten there in time. The fast-paced footsteps against the ground told him Andrew had finally made it. The next, Riko released a sound like an animal, and shattered the silence like an explosion. Sparing Neil another glance, Neil gave him a weak yet triumphant smile.  
“Think he realized we don’t like him yet?” He managed to get out through the gasps for breath.  
Kevin’s eyes looked a little less worried for a moment.  
Soon, they were surrounded by the rest of the Foxes. They immediately swarmed to Neil, checking as Kevin did that no harm had come to their youngest teammate. Some ravens were nearby, drawn in by the screaming, but none of them were closer than a few yards away. Most wore disinterested faces, and the rest were too crushed by their first loss to care about their King in his moment of weakness.  
As the rest of the team hauled Neil to his feet, Kevin stood alongside Andrew, who had been standing with his boyfriends at his back, his racquet like a gate between them and Riko. Andrew stepped to the side as Kevin took a step towards Riko. A few moments later Neil came to stand at his other side after being released from the team’s fierce group hug.  
For some time, the three just stared down and listened to the screams. When Kevin grew bored, he closed the gap between him and his former master. As soon as Riko managed to focus his gave on the one who was supposed to be his, the animal screams turned into a growl. He tried to use his good hand to take a swing, but in his state Kevin easily grabbed it. Kevin looked at them, his hand covered in scars from the boy sitting in front of him. He wanted to repay that ten times over, for him, for what Riko did to his team, for what Riko did to Jean.  
He looked back to Riko, who was bent over and gasping for air. He dropped his hand, instead placing it under Riko’s chin and forcing him to look back at him.  
If it was just a few years ago, this look would have sent Kevin sprawling away in terror. It would have meant near death for possibly several teammates. Jean would have a lot of broken bones. Now, Kevin didn’t think he could care less.  
“I’ll fucking kill you all for this,” Riko spit out.  
Kevin saw Wymack and Abby run up. He saw the team start in, but Wymack shook his head at Dan, who- thank god- stopped them, since Andrew looked like he would have swung at anyone who would step near them. Interference handled, Kevin turned his full attention back to Riko.  
A horrible smile curved his lips. One that he had seen on Riko so many times, one that he hoped got all the anger he had over everything Riko had done to all of them.  
“You should have done before now,” Kevin said, because he knew this was it. A brilliant, light feeling settled in his chest. This was the end of the Ravens, of Riko and Tetsuji. If Riko was going to stop him from showing everyone who the real child of Exy was, he should have killed him the night he tried to take his hand. Riko would be done now. “You should have known I would come back. I always was.”  
Kevin rose at the look on Riko’s face. He took his proper spot, Andrew and Neil at his side, his team and his father at his back. Riko knew it too. Riko started screaming after them, but Kevin turned his back on the former King, joining his team, and his family.  
The Foxes had done exactly what they came to do. No one would ever question them after tonight. Now everyone knew who was really the most powerful piece on the board.

**Author's Note:**

> this is a late night rambling because i got really emotional about kevin day. i really like the idea of kevin being the one to stop Riko?? also, i shamelessly support kevin x andrew x neil, but this could be read without that if you're not a fan. im fairly new to this fandom and want to write more, so let me know what you think!!


End file.
